Echoes Of The Past
by BlackGooseGirl
Summary: Set after Stars, a old enemy has come forth with a new face. It's going to take all of the senshi, plus some old faces, to defeat it once and for all. UM, beginnings of SS, HM.
1. Beginnings

I think I'm going to regret doing this.

The first chapter in a multi-chaptered fic.

Set after Stars, a old enemy has come forth with a new face. It's going to take all of the senshi, plus some old faces, to defeat it once and for all.

* * *

Sailor Moon could be forgiven for sometimes thinking that the whole world was against her. She'd died at least twice, lost everyone dear to her twice, and had fought and defeated Galaxia and Chaos. She felt that she deserved a little time to herself, to get her school and social (and love) life back on track. Was that too much to ask? Apparently, yes. Her relatively peaceful life had recently been disturbed by a bout of nightly attacks by bear-like monsters.

The one they were currently fighting was faster, larger and stronger than the others. It dodged Mars' Flame Sniper and Jupiter only just pulled Moon out of the way as it streaked over to Mercury. She managed to get an attack in, but it quickly shook it off, and raced over to Venus, who screamed and jumped into a nearby tree. The – thing – watched from below.

"Damn, that thing's fast," panted Sailor Mars as the others ran up to her. "Dumpling brains will never destroy it if it won't stay still."

"Don't call me dumpling brains!" Moon snapped.

"Not important right now," interjected Jupiter, before the two could get into an immature argument complete with sticking out tongues. "The problem is how we'll get that thing to stop."

"Love-Me Chain should work," said Mercury, her voice hesitant, "but Venus is up that tree. We need a distraction."

Almost before she was finished talking, a rose shot out from a tree next to them, and landed in the ground in front of the monster. It looked down, and quickly ripped it to shred. However, the time gained meant that Venus could make her way over to the group and begin her attack.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!"

A chain of golden energy wound its way around the body of the monster, tight and unyielding, trapping it completely. Sailor Moon grinned, and stepped forward to finish it off.

When asked later, Sailor Moon would only remember the snap of metal, the glimmer of a broken chain, and the flash of claws.

And then the pain.

* * *

Kami-sama was against him, Tuxedo Kamen was certain of it. He'd died twice, been alone for countless years, and his girlfriend was an agent of love and justice and seemed determined to get herself killed. Even now, she was being pulled out of the way of a slobbering, racing monster.

From his viewpoint in a tree, he could hear as the senshi discussed their plan. He heard his cue – a call for a distraction – and threw his rose. He didn't make a speech – he knew that there was no time, that the girls had to act quickly, or else their window of opportunity would be gone. Besides, the monster wasn't going to listen to anything he had to say.

He watched as Venus tied the monster up, and Sailor Moon stepped forward. He jumped down, confident in her ability, and sure the battle was all but over. Just as he touched the ground he heard her scream, a loud noise that echoed in the still air of the night. He stumbled forward, almost losing his balance. As he raised his head, he caught sights of Mercury's face, white and bloodless and terrified. Slowly, he turned around.

She was lying on the floor, clutching her side, legs pulled up, curled into a foetus position. The other senshi were watching her in shock. He gave a slight smile and shook his head. Honestly, he took his eyes off her for a second and she managed to hurt herself. This was what he was talking about – determined to kill herself. He started to walk forward; clearly the others weren't going to help her, and she wouldn't be able to get up by herself. He faltered slightly as he got closer. There was something staining her suit. Was that – blood?

He moved so fast that he reached her before the other girls; he fell to his knees beside her and stared in disbelief. There were three – holes – in her side, narrow and deep, around a centimetre apart from each other, the first under her ribcage, the last above her hip. It was hard to see under the blood.

Her eyes were shut and she didn't move. His heart hammered wildly in his chest. He puts his hands on her shoulders. "Sailor Moon." He said. "Sailor Moon!" When that didn't work- "Usako!"

Her eyes opened slowly, clouded with pain. "Mamo-chan?" She asked faintly. She tried to uncurl towards him, but she screamed again, and blacked out.

He looked helplessly at the girls massed around him. Out of the four, only Mercury looked as though she wasn't trying to keep her lunch down. Venus had turned away; Mars was crying silently. Mercury had her doctor face on.

He cleared his throat, but his voice still cracked when he spoke. "She needs a hospital." Mercury nodded sadly. He gestured to her outfit. "I can't take her as Eternal Sailor Moon, though."

Mars gulped back a few tears, and when she spoke her voice was thick. "Just – just take off her broach."

It was difficult to remove, but he managed it, and her clothes turned into a simple skirt and top in a flurry of feathers. Immediately the white cotton of her t-shirt began to stain crimson with blood. He de-transformed too, and took off his light jacket and pressed it against the wound in an attempt to stem the blood flow.

"We need an ambulance," he heard Mercury say behind him. It was as if she was speaking through water, muffled and quiet.

"There isn't a phone booth in this side of the park," said Jupiter, her voice desolate.

"This is why we need mobile phones." Venus gave a slightly hysterical giggle, as if all of this was too much on her.

Mamoru thought of his mobile lying on his bed at his flat and sighed. He gathered Usagi into his arms; jacket pressed between his stomach and her wound, and stood up. The senshi turned to look at him; eyes empty and yet full of emotion.

"I'll take her. We're close to the road here, and it'll be easy to get a taxi."

The girls nodded, but Jupiter asked "What will you tell them?"

He looked at the girl in his arms, at the lack of blood in her face, at the abundance of it on their bodies, and closed his eyes. "I'll say she was stabbed. It's true, in a manner of speaking." The tears were difficult to keep back, but he managed it. He opened them. "I'll ring you from the hospital. Try to act shocked. I'll need to know exactly what happened, but that can wait." The blood was beginning to show through his jacket. "I'll have to go." The girls nodded. He nodded back, feeling slightly like they were all nodding dogs, and then became sure that he may be cracking up slightly. He turned and ran towards the road.

The road was almost empty, but he knew of a taxi rank just down it. He stumbled along, going as fast as he could with Usagi in his arms and his shaking legs. There was only one taxi there. As he stumbled up the driver got out to open the door for them.

He placed Usagi down carefully on the leather back-seat, and got in next to her, pulling her back in his arms. The driver sat in his seat and peered into his rear view mirror at them. "She all right?" He asked, nodding towards the unconscious girl in his arms. He seemed more worried that she would throw up than anything else.

"She's been stabbed," gasped Mamoru, tired from the run and the fear. The driver's expression turned from disdain to shock and disbelief. "So could you step on it to the nearest hospital, please?"

The driver dutifully did so. Every red light made Mamoru's heart beat fast, every roundabout made it jump up to his throat and all the while he could feel the blood seeping out from under his jacket onto his shirt, staining it the same colour as Usagi's t-shirt. Blood had begun to drip down her legs. How much was on the outside now, rather than where it belonged? His eyes swam with tears. Her hands were like ice, lips blue, face pale. He pressed his forehead into her hair. "Please, Usako," he whispered, "please, don't leave me."

The journey took less than fifteen minutes – he checked his watch every few seconds – but that time was precious. Even paying his fare seemed to take too long. Paid, and satisfied that Mamoru seemed to know what he was doing, the taxi driver drove off. Mamoru got the feeling that he was a little freaked out by the girl in his arms. He hugged her closer and ran into the Accident and Emergency.

The room was practically empty, and the nurse on duty filing her nails. He screeched to a halt just in front of the desk. She barely even looked up. "Please," he gasped. "My girlfriend's been stabbed."

His words set off a flurry of movement. Doctors appeared from out of nowhere, took Usagi from him and wheeled her off. He followed. He watched from outside the room as they hooked her up to blood and various machines. He felt completely numb, as if this wasn't really happening to him. A doctor came up to him to ask for her name and address. They needed her parent's permission for the surgery. Mamoru gave them but didn't take his eyes of the frail girl on the bed. A nurse came up and tutted at him in a motherly fashion and led him to the waiting room. "Your girlfriend's very lucky," she said, and left him with a cup of coffee. He sat staring at it until long after it had turned cold.

_She'd almost died_, he thought. _She still could_. He'd always joked that she seemed to try to die in battles, but that was _joking_. He'd never believed it. It was just like that time with Fiore, but there was no way of bringing her back this time. If she died, she stayed dead, and that was that. A tear fell into his coffee.

Suddenly there was a commotion at the doors: Usagi's family came running in. Her mother and brother gave him off looks after them, wishing it was him who was going to see how she was. He was just about to get up to follow when two policemen approached him.

"Chiba Mamoru?" One asked. Mamoru nodded. "D.I Nakagawa," motioning to herself, "and D.I Takashi. We'd like you to come with us."

He looked over to where Usagi had been wheeled off. "But- but Usako-"

"Tsukino-san is safe. She is stable. We would just like to ask you a few questions."

He nodded, feeling numb and slightly less melancholy. He had expected this, the questions, but to be honest, he had thought they'd come after he'd managed to actually look up on the blonde girl himself. Still, it was nice to know she was alright – though the thought that that was a lie never left his mind.

He followed them to their car and blocked out most of the journey. He couldn't remember where they went or what was said: he just sat there, looking out the window, Usagi's bloodied body painted onto his eyelids.

The questioning room at Juban Police Station was not a particularly welcoming room – grey, with grey furniture, it's window with the peeling paint showing the black night outside. He sat on one of the black plastic chairs as D.I Nakagawa loaded in the tape.

"Interview started at 3.26am. Present are D.I Nakagawa, D.I Takashi and Chiba Mamoru." She said loudly. She raised her head to look him in the eye. "Now, Chiba-san. Why don't you tell us exactly what happened?"

Mamoru sighed and began to weave his story.


	2. Explanations

_Mamoru sighed and began to weave his story._

* * *

"We met outside her house at midnight. She said she wanted to see me – and I wanted to see her."

D.I Takashi leant forward. "And you couldn't do this during the daytime?"

Mamoru gave a wry smile. "You don't know what Usako's like. She can be very persuasive. She was certain it was to be at night. Possibly she liked the romantic aspect of it, she's like that."

"Where did you go?"

"The park. We wanted to be alone."

There were looks exchanged between the two officers. "You do realise, Chiba-san," said D.I Takashi, who was perhaps the more senior of the two, as he leaned forward, "that Tsukino-san is only sixteen, and therefore under the legal age limit."

Mamoru blanched, his face drained of colour. "Not that!" He hissed. "Never _that_! No – we just talked. I've been away for a year, and I missed her."

There was silence, and he took that to mean that he should continue. "She- she ran off ahead, walking backwards, smiling at me. She was so happy." He found that the tears – which he had expected to fake – came easily. There were always those feelings under the surface, the sheer fear that came with an attack. It was easy to remember them now, when Usagi was lying in a hospital bed. "And then this man jumped out of the bushes and grabbed her."

He paused slightly, as if to recover himself. "He had a knife, and he was holding it to her throat, yelling for money."

"What did he look like?"

"I don't know." He motioned over his face. "He was wearing a mask. Tall, I guess. Medium-build." It sounded vague, which was entirely the point. They were never going to get anyone going by that description, which meant no one innocent would be caught up in his lie. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the team who would have to get a suspect, however.

"And then?"

"He took her purse, and I threw my wallet over to him. He told me not to move or Usako would get it. I didn't come anywhere near him, but then he started to drag her in the bushes, so I went after him. And then he did it." He took a deep breath. "He just stuck it into her like she was an animal. Who does that?"

He was about to go on, but D.I Nakagawa cut him off. "Questioning ended at 4:45am."

D.I Takashi leaned forward. "Well, Chiba-san, your story matches Tsukino-san's perfectly. You're free to go."

The relief that they'd both chosen the same clichéd story was so strong that it took Mamoru a second to process what he'd said. "Usako's awake?" He demanded.

"Yes." D.I Nakagawa smiled at him. "If you want, we could take you to her."

Mamoru slumped in his seat, the air around him defeated and tired. "Yes." He said wearily. "Yes, please."

The sun was just rising as they pulled up outside the hospital, its light casting an orange glow on the stark white. He smiled slightly, imagining it was his odango in there who was lighting up the normally depressing building with her laughter and life.

It wasn't until he was standing in front of her door that he remembered that her parents were in there and that he claimed to have dragged her out of bed at midnight on a school night. But now, the thought of seeing Usagi was stronger than the urge to run from a father wielding a shotgun. Despite the promises from the two police officers, he still hadn't been sure whether Usagi was really all right or whether she was hooked up to a drip or whether there'd been any brain damage due to blood loss. He had to see her now, and so he knocked and opened the door.

Her mother was sitting closest to the bed, her eyes red-rimmed from tears shed previously. Her brother was slumped against the wall at the foot of the bed. Neither turned to look at him. Her father was in the corner. He received a glare through narrowed eyes from him as he stepped further into the room.

Usagi herself was sitting upright on the bed. She was slightly at an angle, and he noticed bandages under the gown she was wearing. But still, she was chatting happily and when she spotted him her face lit up and her lips curved into a wide smile. "Mamo-chan!"

Mamoru couldn't move, unable to believe it. She was fine, absolutely fine. She knew him, was sitting up and was _smiling_ at him. His foot moved forward slightly. Suddenly he rushed to the bed and fell to the ground, much like he had done a few hours earlier: he grabbed her hand and pressed it to his check. She was warm. "Thank Kami-sama," he whispered. "You're alive."

"Yup!" She chirped and pulled his hand tightly into hers. "I'm fine."

"I was so – so worried." He choked on his words, his voice thick with the tears that threatened to overspill at any moments. "I didn't know what was happening to you."

She seemed to realise how serious he was. Gently she pulled on his hand, guiding him to his feet and she smiled up at him, softly and sweetly. "I'm fine, Mamo-chan."

"No, you aren't!"

The outburst came from her father. He was sat bolt upright in his chair, a line of anger and annoyance. His fists were clenched and his elbows bent slightly. "Daddy-" began Usagi in a placating voice, but he did not allow her to continue.

"Young man, my daughter is sitting in a hospital bed because she was stabbed." The look in his eye was slightly mad. "And do you know why? Because she snuck out of the house at midnight to be with _you_!"

His wife began to rise out of her chair as if to calm him down. Mamoru opened his mouth to say something – what, he didn't know – but what Kenji said next caused him to close it and his blood to run cold.

"Get away from her."

Usagi gasped and tightened her hold on his hand. Mamoru glanced down at them clasped together and then back again at the man who was glaring at him with hatred in his eyes. "I-" He started.

"Stay away from her." The coldness spread to his limbs. "Stay away from her, stay away from me and stay away from my family."

Mamoru stared at him in disbelief. He couldn't live without Usagi – hadn't that first break-up proven that to him? He certainly couldn't leave her now, when she was injured and needed him the most. Yet, as he looked at her father, he could see his point of view, and knew that the path of least resistance now would make things better for the future. There was a quick battle inside of him and he came up with a decision. Slowly, he nodded. He began to untangle their fingers.

Usagi grabbed onto his arm and looked up at him, eyes wide and filled with tears. He closed his eyes to block out the sight. "Don't worry," he whispered. "I'll just be outside." He sensed rather than saw the tears cascade down her cheeks. He hugged her close for just a second.

"GET OUT!"

He pulled away; she was left holding the air around her and she stretched out a hand to try to catch some part of him. He walked quickly, ignoring the cries of his name coming from the sobbing girl behind him. The door was wrenched open and then subsequently slammed shut and Mamoru collapsed against it, breathing heavily.

"Stop crying, Usagi."

Her father's voice was harsh and the sound of it caused her to sob harder. This was different from her usual wail – this was silent, desperate and a thousand times more wretched.

"Oh, Usagi," whispered her mother and she got up and hugged her crying daughter close. Usagi clutched at her, desperate for some comfort.

"You are not to see that boy again, Usagi."

She turned her wide, red-rimmed eyes onto him. "But-" she gasped against the flow of tears, "but, Daddy – why?"

His anger, bottled up throughout the night, exploded in one moment. "Because I say so, dammit! He caused you to be stabbed, for kami-sama's sake!" Usagi didn't even flinch, but Ikuko blanched and Shingo slid down the wall slowly until he was hunched over. "He's bad news, dragging you out at midnight to do heaven only knows what – and on a school night, no less! Now, I am your father and you'll do as I say."

"But Daddy-" She tried again, voice full of desperation. "You don't understand-"

"What don't I understand?" He asked coldly. "The part where you followed him? The part where he let you get stabbed?"

"No," she whispered, "no, I love him."

This had the opposite desired effect: he merely scoffed at her. "Puppy love," he said breezily. "You're too young to be in a serious relationship."

Usagi broke down again, the knowledge of her secret life too much. Ikuko looked at her only daughter; her face screwed up with unhappiness, and turned to her husband. "Dear-"

"NO!" He shouted. "I will not have it, and that's final!" Ikuko closed her mouth, taken aback, and silence reigned in the room.

Mamoru had found a payphone on the ground floor. He figured that Rei would be the best one to ring, as it was likely she would be up attending to the shrine, and would be able to get the message to the other girls. As he inserted the money into the machine, he rested his head against the plastic visor. His head was beginning to pound, which wasn't surprising when he'd been up all night.

Rei answered on the second ring, which led him to believe that she'd been sitting next to it. She certainly didn't sound like she'd slept. "Mamoru-san?" Was how she greeted him.

"Yeah."

"How is she? Is she alive? Is there any permanent damage?" Mamoru smiled despite himself under the barrage of questions. He had no doubt that he would be answering the exact same questions when the girls arrived later, hardly appeased by Rei's second hand offerings.

"Fine. No. And no."

"Thank goodness. I-"

It's best if you don't come," he interrupted, sensing what she was going to say, "at least until after school. You need to get in tough with Haruka-san and Michiru-san and let them know what's happened. They can drive you up here." He forced out a laugh. "It's going to be hard to fight without Usako."

"Mamoru-san, is everything all right?"

There was a slight pause. "Her parents are here." He said finally. She made a noise of understanding. "I'll explain later, when you get here." He glanced at the meter. "I'll have to go."

"I-" She stopped. Then: "Bye."

"Bye." He hung up; collected his change. He made his way back up to her room and luckily found a spare chair just opposite it. He collapsed into it, unable to stay on his feet any longer, but he managed to stave away the threat of sleep.

He watched.


	3. Ideas

Finally, the Outers make their appearance! It's about time, really, considering they're my favourites.

Longest chapter so far. If only they could all come out this long!

* * *

The group at the corner booth of the Crown were a subdued one. Motoki stared at each one of them as he took their order. His question as to where Usagi was only brought forced smiles and a chorus of "detention!" He let the matter lie, swearing to bring it up with Mamoru later: he would certainly know something.

"He sounded like he was forcing it." Rei continued the conversation they'd been having before Motoki had come over. "Like there was more to it than he was telling me."

"But Mamoru-san wouldn't lie to us," Ami pointed out, correct as usual.

"Maybe he just didn't want to worry us." Makoto's nails were almost bitten down to stumps.

Suddenly Minako stood up, looking over to the door. "Finally," she moaned and began waving frantically. "Haruka-san! Michiru-san!" The two newcomers made their way over to the group, weaving their way through the other tables.

"Hi." Haruka said, helping Michiru into the before sitting down herself, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Sorry we're late. There was a bit of traffic."

"Ara? Where's Usagi-chan?" Michiru looked around at the faces of the gathered girls. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the colour drain from their faces.

"That's what we wanted to talk to you about." Minako said weakly.

Haruka's hand tightened around Michiru's waist. "What's happened?" She bit out.

Makoto started the story. "There was an attack last night in Shizen Park-"

"I sensed it." Michiru interrupted. "It was low level. We thought you would be able to take care of it – that's why we didn't come."

"So did we," said Rei sharply. "That's why we didn't call you."

"It was both bigger and faster than we'd expected." Ami explained. "We had it tied up but it broke through. Sailor Moon was closet. It-"

"What. Happened?" Haruka repeated through her gritted teeth.

"It stabbed her." Minako whispered.

"WHAT?" Haruka yelled, standing up as Michiru gasped and pressed a hand against her mouth. The whole café turned to look at them.

"Haruka-san," Makoto hissed, looking worriedly at the curious faces around them. Michiru recovered and began to pull at Haruka's sleeve. The blonde girl sat back down, slowly, shaking.

"Is she dead?" Michiru whispered. They thought that this was a slightly strange thing for her to say, but perhaps they had made it sound worse than it was.

"No," reassured Ami. "Mamoru-san took her to the hospital and he told Rei-chan that Usagi-chan's fine. He said to tell you, but we were rather hoping you'd be able to take us up there."

"Yeah," said Michiru, nodding, a slightly shell-shocked expression on her face, "yeah, I'll ring Setsuna and get her to come over. We won't all get into Haruka's car." She left the table to walk over to the door, squeezing past Haruka, who barely even noticed. She was looking at the table, her hair covering her eyes.

"Haruka-san?" Minako asked, touching her softly on the shoulder. Haruka looked up, her eyes burning with anger.

"How could this have happened?" She hissed. "How?"

"We don't know." Makoto said, shaking her head. "One second she was fine, the next…" Her words trailed off.

"There was nothing anyone could have done." Ami said, looking at the older girl carefully. "It happened too fast."

"We felt it." Haruka's voice was full of self-loathing. "Last night. We both woke up. The winds had stopped but the oceans roared. It was like a punch to the heart. But it was over in a second and we just – _we went back to sleep_!"

"You weren't to know." Ami told her softly.

"We should have known!" Haruka said loudly and angrily, hitting her fist off the table. "We are supposed to protect our Princess! It's our mission. What kind of senshi are we?"

A different hand touched her shoulder and she slumped back in her chair, not looking at Michiru, who place her hand on the back of Haruka's neck. "Ami-chan's right." She told her quietly. "We were not to know." To the others: "Setsuna will be here in ten minutes. She already knew. Part of the charm of being the senshi of time, I think." She smiled softly. "Anyway, Minako-chan and Ami-chan, why don't you come with us, and Rei-chan and Mako-chan can go with Setsuna and Hotaru."

They nodded and the next few minutes were spent in an uneasy, impatient silence, save for Haruka and Michiru whispering among themselves. The noise level did not raise any when Setsuna and Hotaru finally arrived. Motoki watched as the tall woman and young girl made their way over to the table usually occupied by just five. It was rare to see so many of the group gathered together: rarer still to see them without Usagi. Something was definitely wrong.

"Ami was right." Setsuna said as she reached the table. "There was nothing you could have done, Haruka."

Haruka's head shot up, and then she forced a smile. "All-seeing as usual, Sets." Setsuna inclined her head.

"I have explained to Hotaru." She said. "We can leave as soon as you want." This was certainly a stupid thing to say: the girls nearly fell over themselves in the mad rush for the door.

* * *

He was being shaken awake. He mumbled something and waved a hand around to get the person to stop. He felt it connect with skin. His eyes shot open to see Haruka glaring at him, a red mark livid on her face and the other girls looking at them in amusement.

"Sorry, Haruka-san," he said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. She muttered something under her breath and looked away. "Was I asleep?"

"Slightly." Rei said with a grin.

"Where's Usagi-chan?" Ami burst out. She blushed as everyone turned to stare at her. They noticed that she looked rather frightened. Perhaps the serious atmosphere of the Crown and the drive over had scared her more than they had known.

They then turned to Mamoru, who gestured towards the door in front of him. "You think I'd leave her? Usako's in there." Makoto's hand was on the doorknob so fast that he just had time to shout "Stop! Her family's already in."

Just as he finished, the door opened to present her mother, who looked at them in surprise. "Girls! I was just about to ring you." She avoided Mamoru's eyes. "We're leaving now so you can go in and see her." She glanced back into the room. "Cheer her up, okay?" It was said quietly, as if to avoid being overhead and the girls exchanged wondering glances.

They stood back as Usagi's family walked past. As her father went past Haruka, they heard him say "I hope this isn't another punk here to corrupt my daughter." Rei turned to Minako with raised eyebrows. They became higher still when he spotted Mamoru. "I told you to stay away!" He said angrily.

"I'm not leaving her," said Mamoru evenly.

"Keep away from Usagi." He hissed before storming down the corridor, followed by his wife and son. Everyone turned in shock to Mamoru who smiled.

"What are you waiting her?" He asked. "Usako needs you."

The Inners were in first, Rei at the lead, and they could hear screams and shouts from inside the room. "Perhaps we should let them reassure themselves," Setsuna smiled, and so only Hotaru from the Outers went in. Michiru sat down on the chair next to Mamoru and placed a hand on his arm.

"Mamoru-san, are you all right?" Mamoru blinked at her.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"What was that all about?" Haruka asked, coming to stand next to Michiru.

Mamoru looked at the door unseeingly. "Her father has forbidden me from seeing her."

"What?! Why?"

"He believes I am responsible for her getting stabbed." When Haruka began to protest, he said "To him, she snuck out of the house to meet me and he doesn't know what happened after that, only that along the way she was stabbed. It doesn't look good, and I can understand how he must feel."

Setsuna opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Hotaru popping her head around the door. "Guy, Usagi-chan wants to see you."

Haruka sighed wearily, but the wide grin on her face belied her true feelings. "Our Princess," she said in a teasing tone, "so demanding!"

Michiru looked at Mamoru, who nodded towards the open door. "Go on," he said, "I'm staying here anyway." She nodded back and the three older women entered the room.

"Haruka-san! Michiru-san!" Then, as Setsuna came in, "Setsuna-san!" Usagi was sitting up on her bed and something clenched around their hearts at her smiling face.

"Okay, Kitten?" Haruka asked, a smile on her face but she was unable to keep some of the worry out of her voice.

"Yup!" Usagi chirped. "I'm fine." The girls were not fooled. There was something in her voice, something which spoke of unhappiness. This was explained by her next words, which were spoken in a deceptively casual voice. "Haruka-san, is Mamo-chan outside?"

Haruka did not bother to hide it – she nodded, her face unreadable. Usagi brightened. "Could you ask him to come in, please?" Her voice was suddenly a lot happier. There was a brief pause where Haruka looked at her Princess, before nodding again. She went to the door and relayed the message. Mamoru appeared in the doorway but didn't come any further in. Usagi's smile faltered.

"Mamo-chan," she said hesitantly, "you know, you shouldn't listen to my father."

"If I listen to your father," Mamoru said without looking at her, "It's more likely that we won't have a repeat of before." He looked up at her then, straight in the eye. "I'm willing to fight for you, but I'm hoping it won't come down to that. That's why I left."

"Mamo-chan, please…"

He looked away; glanced around the room; smiled softly. "I should go – I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. I-" He stopped and turned to leave.

"Her parents won't be back while we're here." He looked at Setsuna who smiled kindly at him. "I won't tell if you won't," she said with an uncharacteristic wink. He blinked at her.

"T-thank you…" He took the seat Rei vacated by the bed and gripped Usagi's hand in his.

"Usagi," Rei started from her new position on the end of the bed, "what happened last night?"

"That's what I'd like to know too." Mamoru said as the others nodded.

Usagi's free hand clutched the sheets and then released them; she touched her stomach, wincing as she felt the bandages under her gown. "I don't know," she admitted. "It happened so fast."

The anger and guilt that had kept Minako awake all night boiled over. "It's my entire fault!" she cried. "I was so certain I had it – I should have been more careful."

"It was an accident, Mina." Artemis said quietly from where he had been snuck in, in her bag.

"I don't think it was your fault at all, Minako-chan." Everyone turned to look at Ami. She was looking slightly away from them, as if she was lost in her thoughts. "It didn't look like the chain was slack: it looked like the youma broke _through_ the chains."

Everyone looked shocked at this. They didn't doubt Ami's mind, but her eyes were another story. "But that's impossible, right?" Makoto asked quietly. "I mean, it wasn't _that_ strong."

Ami shrugged. "We could have underestimated it."

"What happened to it?" Haruka asked, leaning forward and resting her arm on the table next to her. "After it did this?" There was silence as the girls thought about it.

"I don't know," Rei said finally. "It just disappeared. I couldn't sense it at all."

"It can't have just disappeared!" Haruka said, exasperated. Michiru raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"It did!" Rei insisted. "Right after it…it just vanished."

Haruka slumped back in her chair, unable to believe her, but Michiru frowned. "That's doesn't sound normal." She murmured. Haruka looked at in disbelief.

"I think you're right, Michiru-san," said Ami, nodding. "Judging from where it attacked, it was going for vital organs. No normal youma will do that. It was too quick, too clean."

"And?"

"So I think it was being controlled."

There were confused looks on everyone's faces. "So you mean," Michiru began slowly, "that someone was watching the battle and was telling the youma what to do?"

Ami nodded again but hastened to add that it was just a theory. "I mean, it's not very likely – we'd probably have noticed if someone was there."

"But if you are right, then that means we probably have a new enemy?" Minako's voice lacked any of its usual happy-go-lucky qualities and Artemis recognised it from the Sailor V days.

There was silence in the room, a silence that seemed to push down on them, swirling in their heads and constricting around their hearts. It was so rare for there to be silence around the girls who had fought together, and Mamoru suddenly realised that they all knew a new battle could be about to began. The tension became almost too much. Then, the hand gripping his hand slackened: Usagi had fallen asleep.

They retreated quietly, acknowledging that the substitute meeting was over. As Setsuna passed him, she whispered, "7pm."

He didn't leave the room until 6:59pm.


	4. The Second Coming

Chapter 4! Things are finally starting to happen, and from here on in is where the actual plot begins to emerge. I'm hoping that the length of the chapters are going to reflect that.

* * *

It felt weird not fighting alongside Sailor Moon, as if there was something missing. True, it was much easier to concentrate when they weren't worrying about 'that blonde ditz', but they found they missed pulling her out of the way: after all, protecting their Princess was what they were there for. It felt doubly weird that Tuxedo Mask wasn't there in the shadows, a source backup and almost comfort if things got bad. He spent most of his time at the hospital now, going home only when her parents were scheduled to arrive, and coming back when they left.

The previous battle had caused them to be slightly paranoid about what they would find when the call had came from Rei, who had felt the disturbance on a street a short distance from her school. They had been relieved when it was a youma similar to those they had been fighting. They looked almost like wolves, with the bulk of a bear, and with claws of a ridiculous length that, as they find out, were dangerous. They were capable of sucking the energy from their victim, leaving them weak and bleeding to boot. One large attack was capable of taking out the youma, but only Sailor Moon could restore the one who had been attacked if they got to a certain point.

Mars was so close that she had intervened before things had got too bad. After the battle, an ambulance would suffice for the young woman who was now lay by the side of the road. Unfortunately, it appeared that their first impression of their foe had been wrong: he was the usual size and of the usual strength, but not the usual speed. He was even faster than the one who had attacked Sailor Moon, and this time the senshi were not even able to get a single attack in.

Soon it became hard to even build up to an attack as they were so busy trying to dodge the claws thrown out at them with a rather reckless abandon. Mercury conceded that there were few signs of intelligence in this one and to all of the Inners it was quite clear that the youma's mind was telling it to injure as many of the things trying to injure _it_ before they could manage to.

Soon only Jupiter remained on the ground, protecting the woman who had been targeted. Mars and Venus were huddled together on the roof of a house in the street: Mercury was in a tree opposite them. As a last resort, Mars sent an arrow shooting in the direction of where the youma had been, but by the time it got there, it was already being fended off by Jupiter. Both of their attacks left damage to the road but not to their enemy.

"This is ridiculous!" Mars screamed as another attack missed. "How on Earth are we going to defeat it if we can't even hit it?"

"Makes you wish we had Sailor Moon, doesn't it?" Venus asked as she jumped down in an attempt to get closer. "At least her attacks can spread out over quite a large area."

"Never thought I'd actually be wishing we had that air head during a battle," Mars muttered as she pulled her bow back.

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

The two attacks that were sent in opposite directions looked for a minute as if they were going to work. They got quite close to the youma – which then dashed forward and the arrow and heart collided with a loud bang and a lot of light.

"Damn!" Jupiter yelled as the explosion came too close to where she was. She was blinded for a moment, and opened her eyes just in time to see a razor sharp claw coming towards her head. She yelped and rolled over just in time. She was saved from future worry as an another arrow shot it's way in between them, scaring the youma into running down the road, where Venus stopped it from escaping.

Mercury watched it's movements under her visor, noting which direction it seemed to preference, which paw it attacked with. She could sense the others tiring of the game: unable to attack but unable to allow it to leave. It moved left, left, right, left, and then-

"There!" She shouted, pointing to a spot around three metres from Venus.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

The flurry of green energy sent Venus flying to the ground as it ploughed into the ground in front of her: they had missed again. At the last second, the youma had changed direction, and suddenly all of its patterns had changed and she was unable to predict what was going to happen next. She tapped her earring, frowning at the thought that had occurred to her. _Could it be that it's getting smarter the longer it fought?_

It certainly seemed likely. Where before it had been shooting from place to place following a pattern, it was now going anywhere to avoid getting hit, and the attacks it threw out were more calculated. It looked like it was trying to hit them for a reason now, not just to protect itself.

She looked around, into the sky, on top of any buildings that she could see, and though her vision from her viewpoint was limited, she couldn't make out any forms. She gave up the search and, jumping down, joined back into the battle.

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

This, too, missed, but then she hadn't expected it to hit. It seemed to confirm her suspicions: she had gone for the position her previous data had told her, mixed with a little of what she now knew and the youma still dodged it, though barely by a hair. The whole thing had just become a lot more complication.

"It's getting smarter!" She called to her comrades, who looked at her, then at the youma.

"That thing?" Venus asked as it took a break, slobbering on the floor. "I wasn't even aware it had a brain to begin with."

"It's patterns of attack have all changed. It's dodging everything that we do with much more ease than before, and it's attacks are more focused. I think that's what's happening, because I can't see anyone else nearby."

"That's nice," Jupiter said tiredly as she picked up the woman and jumped to the roof where Mars and Venus had been previously, "but what does it mean for us?"

"It means that we have to clear this thing up quickly, before it gets too clever."

"What do you think we're trying to do?" Mars shrieked. "It's impossible!" Mercury just looked at her helplessly. A being whose intelligence increased was well beyond anything that she could deal with. "I wish Uranus and the others would hurry up," she muttered.

"I'm sick of this," Venus said, hands on her hips. "It's still early: we could be at the hospital right now instead of fighting this useless thing. Stand back. I think it's time we just went all out." Mercury and Mars dutifully did so.

"Venus Love and Beauty-"

She was cut off as the youma came from nowhere to slash it's paw across her stomach. She luckily saw it coming, and was able to jump away. However, it was slightly too late: as she landed a few metres away, she doubled over as blood dripped steadily onto the ground. The others cried her name but were unable to do anything as the youma shot forward-

"Space Sword Blaster!"

The youma was cut in half with an animal-like howl and vanished in a flash of light as the Uranus and Neptune came running up the street, Uranus's sword held firmly in her hand. Venus was on her knees now as she clutched at her stomach. They gathered around her, Mercury pushing her down onto the ground so as to fully assess the damage.

The wound was fairly shallow and the bleeding was not as bad as she'd first thought it was: the senshi of love must have jumped away just in time to prevent a more serious wound. However, it was a steady flow, and although she made no noise, the tension on her face showed that Venus was in a lot of pain. A wound like this would be fairly easy to bandage up, which was a relief. They couldn't afford for another one of their number to be in hospital, and the idea of making up another lie didn't rest well with her.

"I'm not going to hospital," gasped Venus as Mercury stood up. Mercury shook her head in agreement.

"No, I can patch you up at home. It's a fairly shallow cut, and my mother is home tonight. You can ring your parents and tell them your staying over my place." There was no answer from Venus and she chose to take this as an acknowledgement. She glanced over at the others. "Can one of you take her for me? I'm going to keep her at my place for the night."

Uranus stepped forward to pick up Venus and, ignoring the groans of pain, began to follow Mercury as they headed towards her house. It was quite a distance and Venus was looking decidedly green when they got there, but whether this was from the pain or the jostling as they had leapt, she did not know. Uranus lay the wounded girl down on the sofa, looking around the large apartment curiously.

"Do you need anything?" She asked as Ami, having de-transformed, pulled a large first aid kit from a cupboard. Ami glanced at her dubiously.

"I don't know," she said. "I mean, it didn't look like I'm going to have to pull anything out," – Venus moaned at this- "but the antiseptic could sting pretty badly. I don't know if you want to stick around until after that."

Uranus nodded, but didn't reverse her transformation. Venus did, but let out a gasp of pain as she lost the protection her senshi form lent her, the pain that had been held back rushing to flood her nerves. She convulsed slightly and Uranus put her hands on her shoulders to hold her down as Ami began to shake some antiseptic onto some bandages. The wound was already beginning to crust and she wanted to clean it before any of the dirt that had no doubt been transferred got lost on her.

With a deep breath she sprayed a little of the liquid onto the wound. Surprisingly, Minako didn't scream, but she did yelp and jump, causing Uranus to have to hold her down slightly harder. A few tears made their way down the blonde's face as her treatment continued. She wondered aloud why the thing that was supposed to make you better hurt more than the damn injury, to which Uranus smiled and muttered something about "not knowing true pain". The resulting argument kept Minako's mind off what Ami was doing to her side.

"Thanks, Uranus," said Ami as she stood back up and threw the now bloodied cotton wool balls in the bin. "I think we're all right now. You can get back."

Uranus straightened up, glancing over to the window. "You sure?" Ami nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just going to bandage her up and then she needs to rest. It's still early, you can go. Thank you for helping me."

Uranus strode over to the window and pulled it open. She balanced on the frame, looking back into the room at them. "We'll have to talk about this tomorrow. I thought you'd be able to defeat that thing easily, but it appears I was wrong. There's a reason, right?" The two nodded, a movement the senshi mimicked. "We can talk tomorrow." Then, she launched herself out and the two were left alone.

"You were very lucky." Ami said as she wrapped the clean bandages around Minako's midriff. "It could have been a lot worse and it's already started healing. I even think you'll be able to go to school tomorrow, as long as you don't do any sport."

Minako groaned, clearly recognising that if she was well enough, Ami was going to force her to go. She lay down when she was finished and didn't move from there the rest of the night, happy to stay there chatting or watching television while the smaller girl studied. Her calls of helping with the dinner went unanswered, waved away as Ami played the keen host.

They sat and ate at the small table in the main room, a table that was originally meant for coffee and so was completely over flowing with the meal. They ate in relative silence, something Ami was used to, but Minako would have been full of talk if it weren't for the thoughts moving around in her head.

She couldn't help but feel a little angry with herself. It was one thing for Sailor Moon to get injured, since she was the clumsiest of them all, and was the one who always seemed to get hurt, but she was the Leader of the Inner Senshi. It was unbelievable that she had been hurt, fairly bad too, simply because she hadn't been paying attention. She had grossly underestimated the youma they were fighting, and she'd paid the price.

Then there was what Ami had said. Could it be true that the youma had been getting smarter? She'd never heard of something like that: after all, they were just beasts without much intelligence to speak off. She'd fought enough of them to know. What had changed those last two, who had seemed like the cavalry to the foot soldiers? Could it also be true that someone was controlling them?

"Hey, Ami, can I ask you something?" The blue haired girl looked up from the book she was reading even as she ate and nodded. "Do you really think that there's a new enemy out there?"

Ami was silent for a moment, thinking about the question and what she knew. Minako had no doubt that her answer would be the most logical one. Ami was rarely wrong and the thought of what could the potentially correct answer could be scared her.

"Yes." Ami said firmly. "All the data points to it. The attacks at the beginning were random, weak: we defeated them with ease. Now, the youmas seem to be more structured, as if they know what they're doing. Those battles at the start may have just been a way of testing us." She paused.

"I believe…" She looked at Minako. The blonde girl nodded and gestured for her to go on. She wanted to know what she had to say, valuing her opinion, but knew that it would never be given if she was not asked. "I believe that your injuries and Usagi's were not accidents. I think someone is trying to hurt us, in order to not only get one more enemy out of the way, but also damage our moral."

Minako thought about this as she finished her meal. It made sense, it was logical; and yet, the thought of it made her blood run cold. Could they survive another enemy? As more came, they seemed to get stronger and harder to beat, and the actual vanquishing was left to Sailor Moon each time. She didn't doubt the heart of her Princess, or her abilities, but she knew how hard it was, to have to fight battles on your own. Sailor Moon was as sweet and as kind as her real life counterpart, and it wasn't hard to see that she didn't like to fight. Hadn't she said, during the fight with Galaxia, "There is never a reason to fight"? She hated seeing her dear friend go through the struggle.

"I hope it won't come down to that," she said as Ami cleaned up a short time later. Ami looked at her in confusion. "I hope that Sailor Moon won't have to fight alone."

Ami smiled sadly. "I know. We will always be there for her. But I don't think Sailor Moon would want to fight anyway."

The thought that had been annoying Minako all day finally made its way to her lips and pushed its way through. "If this is a new enemy…do you think Sailor Moon will even be able to fight?"

"I don't know." It was said with a heavy sigh, and Minako suddenly felt that, in light of her recent injuries, perhaps getting depressed with talks of battles and fighting was not the cleverest thing for them to be doing. She changed the subject.

Minako was perfectly willing to stay up later than they actually did. The games that they had ended up playing, along with the snacks that Ami had been bullied into bringing out, had made the whole thing feel rather like a sleepover. She had insisted that as such, they should not go to sleep at all, even if there was school tomorrow. Ami had disagreed. According to the small genius, sleep was necessary for doing well and getting good grades ("Although this does explain why you're always late." "No, that's because my mother never wakes me up."), and at eleven pm sharp, Minako was wrapped in a blanket on the sofa, wide awake but no longer with company.

The thoughts that had somewhat been kept at bay when she had been around another person now flooded her mind. It didn't help that the medication she had taken to dull the pain was now coming back, a constant dull ache in her front. She thought about her place in the senshi, of protecting Sailor Moon, of the battles they had fought and the battles that they would yet to fight. She thought of Aino Minako, the girl and not the warrior, who had dealt with so much more than a normal girl of her age should have done. The thoughts comforted her: they told her who she was and where she was in their world.

It was late when she finally fell asleep, and when she did she dreamt of things long forgotten.


	5. Venus

Finally, chapter 5! The first three chapters had already been written when I uploaded the first one, so the fourth chapter came easily. But this one... I just couldn't get it down. But I wanted to! So I made myself do it. I quite like this chapter, it's sweet. What do you think? Please read and review!

* * *

_"Lord Kunzite?"_

_The silver haired man was standing in a corner of a large room, its cavernous ceiling decorated beautifully with paintings of the planets of the Silver Alliance, the decorations on the walls showing various famous Lunarians. The walls were white, the woodwork gold and the drapes and fabric silver. It was filled with dancing couples and royalty from all over the solar system. The dance floor was a riot of colour as the dancing became more boisterous as a faster song began to be played by the band._

_The tall silver haired man turned his head to the speaker: a beautiful woman, her blonde hair loose around her form and the yellow dress she wore an elegant contrast to the usual wear of her people. He bowed low, as was required, and took her hand in his._

_"Princess Venus of Kinsei." The name came easy to him. He had heard it not half an hour before, as she had come in the ballroom with the Princesses of the other planets. He brushed his lips over her knuckles and straightened back up. She smiled at him, a gentle friendly smile and he motioned for her to join him: perhaps it was because it was so different from the animalistic smiles of the girls who had previously bothered him._

_"You looked bored," she said as she picked up a glass from one of the tables and came to stand beside him. "I thought I'd keep you company."_

_He did not answer, and she chose to take that (as he had hoped she would) that she could stay. "I hear that you are here with the Shittenou, the Four Heavenly Kings, and I was interested in knowing which of the many men here tonight they were."_

_He obliged in her request, pointing out Nephrite (talking to the Princess of Mokusei), Jadeite (looking like he was annoying the Princess of Kasei) and Zoisite (dancing with the Princess of Suisei). She nodded along as he did so, although her smile got wider as they went on. "They seem to be getting on well with my senshi," she commented after he had finished. He looked down at her in surprise._

_He had forgotten that Princess Venus led the fabled Sailor Senshi, warriors of the Silver Alliance, soldiers of the Planets of the Solar System, and of the four in the room today, Protectors of the heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom, Princess Serenity. It was not hard to see why he had not realized: the girl in front of him seemed very different to the ruthless fighter he had heard about from messengers and travelers. But then, there were a fair few rumors about the Princess rather than the Soldier to begin with. Rumors such as that she had caused the Prince of Dosei commit suicide simply by turning him down. He had found out from Jadeite (who was a genius when it came to gossip about beautiful women) that the Prince had merely been ill when Venus had met him, and she had met him only once. There were many rumors of the like, but it was true that she was very beautiful and so he was having a hard time working out which were true._

_"You are their leader." He stated it rather than asked, but she still nodded. "I have heard many rumours of the prowess of your warriors."_

_She laughed, the sound bright and happy. "I do not doubt you have, Lord Kunzite," she said, turning the smile onto him, "but you will know as well as I that stories can often become warped in their retelling."_

_He did not know whether she was being truthful or modest, and he suspected neither over the other. He also caught the second meaning to her words: she was talking of rumors not to do with her senshi form also. He didn't know how to reply to this. He settled on his usual silence. "Know this," she said, and he looked at her in slight interest, "we may not fight as often as it is said we do, and our duties mainly focus around the Princess, but we are every bit as ruthless and strong as it said we are."_

_He regarded her coolly, his mind not missing the meaning in her words. "Are you threatening me, Princess Venus?" He asked, slightly annoyed at the suspicion and distrust that he was already being shown, so soon into the trip._

_To his surprise, she merely smiled sweetly at him, her eyes dancing in amusement. "I?" She asked, laughter rife in her voice, "Threaten the great Lord Kunzite? I am a Princess, Sir, and Princesses simply do not threaten."_

_His usual stoic look disappeared for a second, the corners of his lips twitching up only to return to the straight faced look of before. She realized that she liked this man in spite of how quiet he was. She was able to flirt light heartedly, without him either getting the wrong idea, which was, unfortunately, common, but he neither told her to go away, which was rather less common but no less upsetting. The women of Venus were legendary beauties, but a few ancestors had tainted the name of the planet slightly, and it was not unusual for the men who met her to think things that, frankly, were disgusting. Perhaps she did not make it easier on herself in regards to her flirting, but it was simply her nature, and no reflection on how quickly she would 'jump into bed' with someone, as a certain nobleman in Tennousei had suggested._

_Lord Kunzite seemed to have no ulterior motive in speaking to her – she thought that strange, as she knew that rumours of the other planets were worse on Earth than they were anywhere else in the System. They were an unknown identity: they were not (as of yet) part of the Alliance, so travel to other planets was limited even for the royal family of Earth. She had half expected there to be some sort of incident, wherein a wrong thing was said, but there had been nothing. Those from Earth were calm and respectful, while the others had not held their slower evolution above them._

_He had taken her veiled threat for what it was and so she felt that they understood each other. Both knew their own mission: she did not doubt that the man beside her, who screamed that he was a soldier first and foremost, would not lay down his life for his Prince, and she felt the same way in regards with her Princess._

_There was, still, that little flutter at the sight of him that she had felt as soon as she stepped into the ballroom. He was silver and steel and stoic, so different from her own golden life. They did say opposites attract. She knocked herself mentally for slipping into the romantic clichés her mother was famous for, before smiling ruefully at the thought. Being the leader of the senshi didn't allow for much romance, and being from Kinsei meant that the rare romance was often not of the kind she wanted. For all she knew from her mother, she was very inexperienced – at least when it came to that._

_She heard Mars shouting – not that that caused a scene, it was all too common – and when she glanced over to see who the unlucky victim was, she was rather shocked to see that it was the blonde man Kunzite had named as Jadeite. She had told the girls that they were not to attack, in any way, any of the Earth party (purposely looking at Mars as she did so), but she could not make out words in the yells and so could not tell whether the attack was warranted or not. Knowing Mars, the fact that a man would dare speak to her was likely to be the reason. She frowned slightly as she noticed the expression on the young man's face: it was not chastised, or sorrowful. Rather, he was grinning widely as Mars turned steadily redder, and every few seconds he would say something back to her that only caused her to get angrier._

_Kunzite noticed the shouting, and the girl's frown, and so he too turned to see what was happening. He had put the yells down as normal, as no one was actively doing anything about them, but the frown suggested otherwise. He recognized the girl as the Princess Mars but he could not quite believe that it was one of his men who was causing the ruckus. He put down his glass and started on his way over, prepared to give Jadeite a full reprimand right there, but Venus caught his arm and shook her head._

_"Do not worry about it," she told him with a smile. "Mars is known for her temper. Every person here has been on the receiving end, even myself. No one will blame Lord Jadeite." He still was unsure. It would be unforgivable for one of his men to cause any kind of damage to the treaty. Yet, as he looked around the room, he found that what the Princess said was true. After a quick glance over, most people were simply smiling knowingly and then turning back to whatever they had previously been doing. Venus smiled at him again, bright and reassuring, and he found himself picking up his glass again._

_They were silent for a minute as they watched the people around them, her eyes focusing on nothing while his were trained on Endymion as he danced with a woman who he felt he should know and yet did not. She was small, about a head smaller than the girl beside him, wearing a long, white dress that floated out around her, seemingly made up of layer and layer of a thin gossamer-like material, accented by pearls and gold. Her hair was a slightly lighter shade than Venus's, and done up in two strange round balls in top of her head. Apart from that small difference, he was struck by how similar the two girls looked. Perhaps that was why she looked so familiar. A younger sister, perhaps? She spun in Endymion's arms, and he caught sight of a crescent moon on her forehead, a sign of a moon born citizen. Clearly not._

_It was the hairstyle that was ringing bells in his mind. It was obviously an uncommon style, which would mean that he should have been able to place it easily, but he was struggling. He looked down to ask who she was – after all, he should know who the one he was supposed to protect was dancing with – when he saw that Venus was also watching the two, a fond smile on her face. Suddenly he realized. The hairstyle was the same as the Queen's, who they had met yesterday, which meant that this must be the Moon Princess. He looked again at her with renewed interest._

_They had not met with the Princess yesterday, as she had been in lessons when they had arrived, or so they had been told. The Moon Princess was even more unknown than anything else. They had heard stories of the senshi, of the Moon Queen, of everything else, but never anything of the Princess. A beauty, they speculated, possibly gifted like her mother. There was nothing special in what they thought: it was made up of various things they had heard of the other Princesses. The little bit they did know was that she was the only child of the Queen and as such was the heir to the throne, something that would never be allowed on Earth._

_He was glad that Endymion seemed to be getting on so well with the young woman, something that could only mean good things for their planets prospects, but the unknown part of her ground on him. He had been brought up as a warrior, someone who would protect his Prince at all times, and as such he felt the need to know everything about anything, and so he used the only person he knew who could help._

_He gestured to the Princess. "The Moon Princess?" He asked, his voice giving nothing away. Venus nodded._

_"Serenity." She gave the name fondly, but the next suspiciously. "I don't know who she is dancing with – I have never seen him before."_

_He glanced at her coolly, but seeing no ill intentions, only confusion in her face, he decided to answer her unasked question. "That's Prince Endymion, heir to the throne of Earth." She let out a soft gasp, and looked at him again._

_"He's very handsome," she commented, her eyes following the two around the room. Kunzite was torn between agreeing in loyalty to his Prince, and something he thought might be similar to jealousy. He didn't particularly like that second emotion, and so he simply nodded and fell back onto his usual silence._

_It was comfortable in silence, he realized, something that he had barely come across before. Most people felt strange in his presence. They were unable to cope with his generally quiet nature. Only his men and his Prince were able to live with it, perhaps because they had known him so long. Strangers took it for snobbery – being born into a high class family can do that to people, he'd heard – while women took it for disinterest. But she took it for neither. She smiled and she watched and she talked for him._

_"She looks very much like you," he said, giving the Princess a compliment that he was sure Venus would not get. It was true, however. They had the same face, same eyes, and similar hair of similar length. Their height was quite different, but he doubted that if you did not look too closely, you would be able to spot that. She smiled at him again, an upturn of pink lips that had his heartbeat racing._

_"We're cousins," she told him, and one of his eyebrows twitched upwards before returning to its previous position. That explained that, then. "Her father was my mother's brother." He looked up at the podium where the Queen was sat, but could see no man beside her, nor had there been one when they had arrived. Venus caught where he was gazing, and said sadly, "he died when Serenity was a baby, so she has never met him, as have I. She supposedly takes after him, or at least according to my mother she does. Queen Serenity barely talks about him." When he glanced at her, she explained, "They married for love, you see. It's quite rare in the Silver Alliance, but the Heirs to the Moon Kingdom are sought after and so she had her pick of suitors. My uncle was not even meant to be one of them – he was under an arranged marriage contract – but when they met, they fell in love. He was lucky it was Queen Serenity that he fell in love with – anyone else would have been unable to have him."_

_He wondered if Princess Venus was burdened by an arranged marriage. On Earth, those who were to grow up as warriors were not put under such things, but he knew a pitiful amount about the senshi, only that which had been twisted and romanticized by story tellers. He did not know whether the things that were said about them were true. He knew only that there were eight of them (there was no senshi of Dosei, he did not know why) and that the four senshi of the Inner planets were the protectors of the Moon Princess. He knew a little of those, a little of their powers: of the other three, he knew nothing._

* * *

_She was sitting at her mirror when she heard the door open, the soft click alerting her to his presence, as it always had. He didn't say a thing but then he didn't need to: she always could talk enough for the both of them._

_"You're late," she said, her voice light and breezy, deceptively so, in fact. She was rather annoyed inside. Their meetings had become few and far between in the last few months, as the Moon tightened security in regards to the Earth. There were strange happenings on the planet, something to do with a witch named Beryl, and none of the shittenou were able to give any useful information on her. It was increasingly dangerous to travel between the two places, and so she wasn't happy that he was late: she had believed that he wasn't coming. But she wasn't going to let him know that._

_She didn't turn around from where she was brushing her hair and so jumped when his hands slid around her waist, pulling her flush against him. She leant into the touch, stretching her neck up so to give his fluttering lips better access. "Kunzite…" She moaned – and then he stuck a dagger into her side._

_Bottles of perfume smashed on the floor, spilling their contents: she staggered from her chair holding her side where an open wound spilled her blood. She looked at it in shock and then pain overloaded her senses and she screamed as she fell to the floor. Looking up, she saw him standing above her, smirking, and she realized that while it was his body, his face, it was not him. This was… "Beryl." She whispered. His eyes went dull for a moment, before he smirked at her._

_"A little too late, Princess." He spoke in his usual tone, calm and stony. This was it, the thing that the Moon had been in planning for: Beryl had taken over. What was worse was that she could no longer do anything about it, could not protect her Princess. However, she realized, as he leant over her body lying on the floor, she could do one more thing. She picked a heavy hand up off the floor and placed it on his chest. He made no move against it, believing that she was touching him as she died, and that was his fatal mistake. He had forgotten what her powers were._

* * *

Minako woke with a start, sitting up and pushing sweaty hair from her face with a shaking hand. She could hear Ami moving around her room and so picked up her watch from where it was lying on the table next to her. It only read 5am. She lay back down slowly, needing more sleep but unsure as to whether she'd get it after the dream she had just had.

The man she recognized from a long time ago, their first enemy, when they fought Beryl and Metallia. He was the last one they had killed, the strongest of the 'shittenou', apparently. But he had fought for Beryl, and in her dream he had spoken of his Prince Endymion – or Mamoru, as he was now. She struggled to remember. There had been a betrayal, or something to that effect, and the shittenou switched sides. Judging from what she had seen, it had not been deliberate. Her past self had seemed to know that he had been brainwashed.

She blushed hotly as she remembered what had happened. The two of them, they were clearly intimately involved. It almost hurt, knowing the feelings that Venus had felt from the moment he had stepped through the door. Utter content mixed with complete love that gave way to total disbelief. She had killed the one she loved with her own hands, and it had been a relief afterwards to die. She could not have lived with that desolate pain, the crippling guilt and sorrow, regardless of whether he had truly turned or not. She had done her duty, yes, but that did not mean that it had not broken her heart.

A tear slipped down her cheek onto her lips and she brushed it away with the back of her hand, breathing heavily. It was almost like she was watching a sad movie; she did not feel like Princess Venus was her, rather that she was an actress on the television, someone completely unrelated. To have loved someone that much but to have killed him – it was something she could not imagine doing, so how could she had done so even in a past life? The emotions that she felt were honest and raw, but she would like nothing more than to forget them, especially considering they were about a dead man. Yes, she thought. I should just forget.

Ami came out a few minutes later, astonished that she was awake and began talking of breakfast and the like. She was so preoccupied that she did not notice Minako discreetly wiping away traces of tears.


	6. Third Time Unlucky

I have one thing to say: THANK GOD this chapter is finished. I wrote just over half of it while on holiday _in August_. I wasted about two weeks when I was back, and then started typing up other stuff. When I finally got around to getting this typed up, I'd completely forgotten what I'd been doing and just couldn't get into it again. Then there was school and other fic ideas, and I'm just so happy that it's finished. Hopefully the next one will be completed sooner!

Plus, it's longer than chapter 5. Only 200+ words, but it's a start!

Enjoy!

* * *

There really was nothing on the television, Haruka thought as she clicked onto the next channel. Well, nothing unless you wanted to watch a mind-numbingly boring romantic-comedy, or an action thing, which she did not – mainly because the ditzy blonde heroine would remind her too much of Usagi, and the action film reminded her too much of the battles which had injured two of their number. She snorted as she flicked past some of the Sailor V anime. There was no way she was going to watch _that_, either, not unless she wanted to melt her brain from the sheer absurdity of it.

She really didn't have anyone to blame but herself – after all, she and Michiru had voluntarily skipped school today. This was rather common as the school refused to give her time off for races, and so she claimed ill whenever there was one. The school had never made the connection.

However, that wasn't the case this time. A sleepless night worrying about Usagi, Minako and their apparent new enemy had left their nerves so frayed that even the thought of seeing the other girls hadn't been enough to drag them in. The song and dance routine of flirting would weigh heavily, too hard to keep up with, and the chorus of "good morning, Kiaoh-senpai!" would annoy her more than usual. Their elevated status, plus their well-known relationship, could be a burden, and neither felt up to dealing with the consequences today.

The background music of soft violin stopped. Haruka noticed the lack of noise more than the actual playing. There was clattering from the other room, and as she finally settled on an American motor race, Michiru appeared in the doorway, holding her violin case, and not looking any calmer than she had when she'd disappeared to begin with. "I'm going to take a bath," she said softly, running a hand through her hair.

Haruka leered at her for a moment, and then grinned. "Want me to join you?" She asked, her voice light and playful, trying to relieve some of the tension that she felt. Michiru smiled and shook her head, as Haruka knew she would. Her shoulders lifted slightly as she left the room. Haruka watched her go, before turning back to stare unseeingly at the television.

The injuring of Usagi had thrown the two of them. They were used to having Sailor Moon there in battles, unassuming and naive. The prospect of having the power of Sailor Moon was terrifying. The fact that they didn't even know if there really was a new enemy, or just stronger youmas, made it more so.

Her fists clenched and unclenched by her side. Ami said it was likely that there was someone new to fight, but estimates were not enough to go by, or to start planning any strategies, and Setsuna could not tell them anything: this was understandable but frustrating. The state of limbo that they had found themselves in was near to impossible for Haruka – the urge to be out there, fighting, was almost too much to bear, but at the same time, she did not want a call to come through. She dreaded thinking about what could happen to them.

Although their telephone call to Ami that morning had informed them that Minako was well enough to go to school, but the trainee-doctor had been doubtful as to whether she'd be able to fight. Minako herself was heard yelling that she was fine in the background, but until they saw her for themselves, they weren't convinced. Suddenly, the decision of not going to school seemed rather stupid. 'We should have gone,' she thought ruefully. 'We could have-'

She stopped mid-thought, and sat up straight and still, like a dog that has sensed it's prey, before doubling over, gasping, clutching at her heart. The winds had stopped. The pain was just like previously; a sharp blow to the chest that left her winded and drained even as it slipped away as the winds began again. This time, however, something had changed, but it took her a minute to place it. Then she realized: there was no scent of the seas. "Michiru!" She yelled.

Her only answer was a horrifying scream.

She was still for a moment; allowed herself a second of complete fear. Before she shot out of the room, turning as she left the doorway and heading straight up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Her heart hammered in her throat, painful and a reminder of time. The pictures on the walls turned to blows as she went past. She came to the first floor and slid as she turned, her slippers coming off and her socks giving her no grip on the wooden flooring. She slammed into the wall, and was vaguely aware of a cracking noise that she paid no heed to. She carried on, going faster now that the silence above her stretched out. "Michiru!" She yelled again, as she came to the second staircase, but again was met with nothing.

The door to the bathroom they shared was slightly ajar: she did not slow down, merely bursting through it and registering a little too late that the carpet outside was soaked. The tiles actually inside the room were too wet to walk on. She slipped and fell almost immediately, her legs flying out behind her as she slammed down onto her hands and knees. Pain jolted through her left arm and it gave way underneath her: her head narrowly missed the unforgiving tiles. It was then that she realised that she was kneeling in a mixture of water and blood.

The bath had over flown. The water had not been turned off either before Michiru had gotten in, or before the incident had happened. She could not actually see Michiru, but then the bath was deep. This thought, the thought of her lover slowly drowning as she lay unconscious, was one that shocked her frozen limbs in movement.

She took a few steps closer and saw a shock of aqua hair floating on the surface of the water. She slipped twice more in her attempt to get closer – both times scrabbling back up and continuing, ignoring the pain in her arms and knees. After what felt like hours (but could only have been a minute) she reached Michiru. She dragged her head out from under the surface: silence. She picked her bodily up from the tub; lay her down on the tiles; checked for a pulse: silence.

"Michiru?" She whispered once. Then she placed her hands on the white skin of her chest and began to pump.

Michiru coughed; water spilled from her lips. Her eyes fluttered half open and she seemed to have trouble focusing. She looked at Haruka in confusion. "Haruka?" She asked in a whisper. Haruka nodded, suddenly shocked to realise that she was covered in blood, and then doubly shocked when she noticed that she was crying, tears slipping past her cheeks. Michiru closed her eyes and Haruka sat there for a second, unsure of what to do now that her girlfriend was dying in her arms.

God was cruel. She did not slip now that it may be too late. The way to their bedroom was unhampered by anything other than the blood that dripped from Michiru and left a trail behind them. The carpet would later have to be replaced, the red a permanent stain and reminder. She staggered into the room, threw the covers off the bed and lay Michiru down on the white sheets. The quilt was rolled up and held against the wound with her leg – the pain in her arm was now excruciating, and she thought it may be broken – while she snatched up the telephone from the bedside table.

Reeling off her address seemed to take hours but as she hung up she was left with the kind of quiet that chilled her to her very bones. The time waiting for the ambulance to arrive was spent watching the blood spill out over the sheets and – this was particularly terrorizing to her – through the quilt. She did not look at the wound. She could not bear to see Michiru like that, did not want to be haunted by yet another image that she could not erase.

She become aware that Michiru was naked as they arrived, but no one else seemed bothered by this: there was too much of a rush, and she was merely covered by a sheet as she was wheeled into theatre. Haruka was lost now, unsure of herself and she stood in front of the doors to the operating room for a while before a nurse came and pulled her away to X-ray.

It turned out that her arm _was_ broken and while she knew that she needed to wait for a cast, she sat and fidgeted as she waited, desperate to be away and to know how Michiru was doing. The cast was formed and she was discharged: the receptionist took so long doing this that she was seriously scared that she was going to hit her. Finding out Michiru's room proved just as difficult, and as she left for the room, she could hear the woman muttering about the 'nastiness' of men today.

She sat on the hard plastic chair for around three hours, her hand firmly wrapped around Michiru's unresponsive one. The unbearable silence was broken only when the police arrived, and she told them the truth – which was that she'd heard a scream, and found Michiru in the state that they saw her now. She did not take her eyes away from the bed as she spoke and so missed the glances exchanged.

She was aware of everything in the room: the strobe lighting that flickered and hurt her eyes, the sickly scent of the air freshener in the corner, the stiffness of her chair and the deathly coldness of the hand she held in her own. Her mind seemed to dissolve into two different parts: the part that was connected to her chest, which seemed as cold as the hand, and the part that was quite rationally telling her that she was in shock and needed to see someone about it before she did something stupid. The former part was not actually telling her anything: it was more like a rushing noise, as if she could hear the blood in her head, and then when she thought that the other part mentally slapped her and told her to pull herself together.

When she found herself admiring the nails on Michiru's hand, she gave herself a shake and glanced up at the clock before something else trivial managed to work it's way into her consciousness. She was shocked to find that it was after five o'clock, which surely meant that Hotaru and Setsuna would have arrived home quite a long time earlier. This posed the question as to why they weren't actually with her right now.

Something came into the back of her mind, slowly pushing its way forward until she could remember: there was to be a meeting today, in Usagi's hospital room. Setsuna had arranged to meet them there after picking Hotaru up, after she had looked at them disapprovingly but not actually said anything about the fact that they had still been in their sleepwear when she'd left the house. It had been arranged for 4:30, a time where Hotaru wouldn't have been out of school for very long, and the girls could feasibly have made their way there. This also meant that Michiru and herself were very late and there would probably be quite a few messages on the house telephone. Well, Haruka thought cryptically, there was no way they'd be getting through today.

Her first thought as she left the room, left Michiru, was that she seemed a little drunk: her eyes weren't really focusing (she never thought that it could be because of the remnants of tears), and her balance seemed to have left her. A classic symptom of shock, her subconscious told her, and she shushed it as she knew that it knew nothing of actual medical conditions. She stopped and shook her head a little, trying to clear it of the fuzzy feelings flying around. She scowled at the nurse staring at her and continued on.

Her attempt didn't work: as she neared the room, she thought of the people inside waiting for them, one of which would never have actually arrived. She laughed loudly at this, feeling the edges of hysteria creeping in. With a slight struggle she threw them off and opened the door.

It was then that she realised how bad she must have truly looked: her jeans were wet at the knees, her shirt ripped at the elbows, both liberally covered in blood, and her house slippers were still on her feet from when she'd put them on coming out. She looked at Usagi, who she'd also been unable to save and her composure fled her.

"Michiru," she said to the room at large, "has a hole in her side." And then she sat down heavily on the nearest chair and broke down.

For the majority of the room, it was the only time they would ever see Haruka like this. A private person, she barely cried anyway, so it even came as a shock to Setsuna and Hotaru. There was silence for a minute as they stared at her. Minako stood up, walked over and put her arm around her shoulders. Haruka showed no inclination of noticing.

"Haruka-san?" Usagi asked in a cautious voice, her eyes frightened as she looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Usagi's voice lent her strength: she managed to stop the long over-due tears, and wiped away the last stray ones with the handkerchief a silent Setsuna handed her. She held it loosely in her shaking hands, breathing deeply as another wave of despair crashed over her. A soft hand touched her forehead, the feeling different from the one that had just left her back; warmth flowed through her, and she glanced up to see Usagi, supported by Mamoru, standing in front of her. The hand rested on her cheek and she leaned into the supportive touch.

"Haruka-san?" She asked again, her voice stronger now but laced with concern and worry. "Could you please explain what's happened?"

In a stalling voice that broke in places, Haruka told them all that she knew, finishing by telling them that without asking Michiru, she had no idea what had happened. The girls listened dutifully, their expressions changing from curiosity to sheer horror as the tale progressed. Minako sat back down; Hotaru stared at her with wide, terrified eyes, clutching at Setsuna's sleeve with white knuckles.

"But beyond that, I'm…not too sure what happened." Haruka finished, all traces of tears gone and a fierce expression on her face that was recognised from battle. Usagi, returned to her seat as the story had begun, thought she looked rather like a wolf, prepared to fight for its mate.

Ami looked thoughtful, the only sign that she was shook up was the fact that her hands shook as she pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Haruka-san? Is it possible that this was just a random attack? By a human, I mean." She asked.

Haruka looked at her, straight in the eyes. "No." She said firmly, and Ami's eyebrows rose slightly. "It felt – it felt exactly like it did when Usagi-chan was attacked. I think it was something similar to the things that injured her, and also Minako-chan."

Her statement brought a round of gasps and doubtful looks. Setsuna had gone very pale and didn't seem as if her mind was on the conversation. Rei stood up angrily.

"Haruka-san, that's impossible! How could something like that manage to make its way into your _house_ unnoticed? Michiru-san would have-"

"I know!" Haruka exploded, standing up, with fists clenched. Her chair fell back behind her with a crash. Rei took a step back: Minako jumped, a scared expression on her face. "I know – Michiru isn't someone to be taken by surprise like that! But you weren't there – it was so fast, it was just a whisper of something before it happened, and there was no way that she'd be able to do anything about it-" She stopped herself quickly, as if becoming aware of what she was doing. She took a deep breath. "Listen. We don't know what's going on. We don't even know who we're fighting. Everything's just speculation right now, and I don't think we can afford to start doubting what another member of the group says, not now we're missing Sailor Moon and – and Neptune."

Rei opened her mouth to say something, but Usagi reached over the bed and tapped her on the side. Rei stopped and sat back down, a disgruntled expression on her face. "I think you're right, Haruka-san," Usagi said, smiling sadly at her. "I think we need to trust each other even more than we usually do, now that we're unsure of ourselves."

Minako cleared her throat. "I think-" She stopped and looked around the room as if needing permission to speak. "I think our priority right now should be trying to find out who exactly we're fighting and trying to fight the youmas without getting too hurt. We can't afford any more losses."

To the surprise of everyone, they managed it: the next two battles were fought, won and cleared up without anything out of the ordinary occurring, other than the fact that they were now missing two senshi. Minako had proven she could fight even with the damage she had suffered, and suddenly she began to see in herself the leader that she'd seen in her dream. Perhaps it was the loss of Sailor Moon, but she knew now that she needed to keep things together and she was coping remarkably well.

Haruka reacted towards Michiru's attack like Mamoru had to Usagi's. She had not been given official time off school, but this was simply because she hadn't actually ventured into school. She spent the next five days by the unconscious Michiru's side, holding her constantly still hand and saying nothing. She arrived there early, before Hotaru had even gotten up, and didn't come back home until after she had gone to sleep; she slept in one of the spare rooms, as their bedding was covered in Michiru's blood. Setsuna had been the one who had cleared it. Haruka refused to go anywhere near the floor. She had seemed thoughtful as she went about the task of binning the stained fabric, her eyes slightly worried and face slightly white.

Haruka was sat in the room again when the girls arrived from school six days after the attack. The details of it were still unclear, and though the police had spoken to her once more, she had been unable to tell them any more.

Usagi, who had been discharged the day before, was the first to arrive, dropped off by her father, who still refused to let her see Mamoru. Thus, they were still sneaking around and saw each other much less often than previously; Usagi had ended up sitting with Haruka, keeping her company in the silence.

The others arrived shortly afterwards; Haruka noticed that they were unusually loud and bright when they were in the room, as if to brighten up the depressed atmosphere that was the hospital in general; as if to cheer _Michiru_ up. She appreciated that. After all, they were comrades and friends, and she didn't feel quite as lonely when Minako was squealing about a boy she'd seen, or when Hotaru was jumping up and down, telling her about the day at school.

An hour passed. Haruka tore herself away from Michiru and began asking about the school. While she had never been bothered about ordinary life before (because, after all, she was Uranus, soldier of wind, and not some everyday person you saw on the street), she suddenly felt like she needed that normality that she had been missing for too long.

There was a knock of the door: Mamoru opened it and in stepped two policemen. He registered that they were the same that he'd spoken to that long night. Takashi-san and Nakagawa-san, if he remembered correctly. "Can I help you?" He asked politely.

D.I Takashi looked at him coldly, his eyebrows rising as he recognised him. "We're here for Tenno Haruka-san, Chiba-san. Do you know where she is?"

Haruka stood up slowly. "I'm here," she said evenly. "What is it?"

D.I Takashi stepped forward; another officer stepped out from behind him, a pair of handcuffs in his hands. "Tenno Haruka-san, we are arresting you for the attempted murder of Kaioh Michiru."

His next words were drowned out by a sea of protests from the other girls in the room. Minako yelled; Rei gasped; Usagi burst in to tears, as did Hotaru. Setsuna turned even paler than she had been for the past six days. Haruka herself simply stood there as the cold metal was snapped around her wrists and she was led out of the door, the shouting fading and the roar of blood replacing it.

* * *

Saito Juri sighed as he made his way down the row of cells that housed the criminals yet to go to trial. He held in his hands a tray of food for the latest addition, who had been brought in a few hours before for the attempted murder of his girlfriend. He'd missed the official dinner time, and it was his job to give him the meal. Hopefully, the attacker wouldn't come anywhere near him – last time he was given this job, he'd ended up in hospital with a fractured rib.

He paused at the door at the end of the hall, realising that he had actually seen the guy being brought in. He'd been tall, thin, with sinewy muscles and short blonde hair: he didn't actually look that threatening, though the utterly lost look in his eyes may have had something to do with that. Good, he thought. Hopefully that means I won't end up in a worse condition than last time.

He slid open the door just wide enough to let himself in, the metal screeching on the tiled floor. He winced at the sound, then scolded himself for letting his guard down, though it didn't even seem like the room was occupied. The lights were all off, the only light the thin stream of moonlight from the small window set high up in the wall. There was no movement. He stepped further inside, looked around, and was just about to leave and ask if he had the right room when the moonlight glinted off something on the floor, something that looked like a sort of liquid. He opened the door further to let more light in, and then jumped back in horror.

There was someone in the room. A young girl, around sixteen, her clothes ripped and bloody - bloody from her own blood, which was dripping from a long, quite deep wound across her stomach – and unconscious, her blonde hair matted red and arms flung out as she lay in the darkness.

The plates shattered on the floor.


	7. Uranus and Neptune

This chapter took so long to write. I simply could not write it, and I'm still not happy with it. I wanted to do a lot more with the idea of this chapter, flesh out the scenes a lot more, but I started well, had to leave it for a bit, and couldn't get back into it. Before long, I got sick of it, and I'm just glad it's done so I can start on the next one.

* * *

The gardens of Ten'ousei were perhaps not as beautiful as those on Mokusei, or as breath-taking as those of the Moon, but to Princess Neptune of Kaiousei, they were infinitely better than those on her own planet. The light, breezy atmosphere allowed the plants to flourish, where they could not on Kaiousei. The trees were leafy and green, the first cherry blossom just beginning to drift down onto the small path that ran between pink and red flowers that filled the air with sweet scent (that her mother had complained was almost sickly). It was quiet; the only sound the soft rustle of the leaves above her as the ever present wind swept through them and ruffled her hair. She pushed it back with her hand and smiled.

Her mother, who was capable of finding fault with everything and everyone, was adamant that no planet should be so windy. Neptune had tried to explain that Ten'ousei was, after all, the planet known for the wind, and their senshi was ruler of the winds, but her explanation fell on deaf ears. Everything from the size of their rooms to the fact that it was rather hot (really, Neptune thought, as if the King of the planet was responsible for _that_) had been commented on, and disapproved of. What her mother was currently raging about, effectively spoiling the nice, calming stillness of the nature around them, was the fact that they had been there for one full day and had yet to meet the Princess Uranus, who was, after all, the whole reason for the trip.

Neptune let her mother's screeching fade out as she stared unseeingly at the cherry tree coming up before them, and let her mind slip to the girl who was to become her companion in fighting, one of the senshi of the Outer Solar system, Sailor Uranus. She knew next to nothing about her, save her name and that she was the same age as herself. She understood that Uranus had an older brother, who would later become king, and a younger sister, who, Neptune felt, had drawn the short straw, as her only place in life now was probably to marry well – something Neptune felt incredibly happy about not having to do. However, she knew very little of the planet's customs and she recognised that basing them off her own was not going to give her a clear view. Asking about them, her mother claimed, was not lady-like.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not look around herself as she stepped forward into a small crossroads where the paths met each other. At that moment a young boy had been running up the path on her left, so fast that he was not able to stop as she placed herself in front of him. He yelled out and crashed into her hard.

She fell to the ground with a slight scream, landing on her back and, she realised as her mother starting shouting, the young, unidentified boy sprawled across her chest. She gasped and tried to push him off. He blushed and scrambled up, holding out a hand to help her up. As she got to her feet he gave her a slight smile and ran his hand through his hair; the wind picked back up and swept through it, ruffling it back into his eyes. "Sorry about that," he said in a husky, breathless voice. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she said slowly, nodding, looking him over, noticing that he wore pale brown breeches and a tan loose shirt. He stood tall and thin. She guessed he was around her age, though his confident air seemed to suggest that he was older. There was something strange about him, something that made the oceans inside of her rise up in a torrent of foam and waves. The soft breeze around them seemed to radiate from the boy in front of her and – she made a slight noise of realisation, and the stranger looked at her in amusement.

They looked at each other for a few more moments, before Neptune became aware of her mother harping on behind her. She tore herself away to listen, and realised with horror what her mother was saying.

"…Just ran out of the corner like that, and knocked over a Royal Princess of the Silver Alliance, almost _molested_ her, and nothing more than an apology! If we were on _my_ planet, let me tell you, you wouldn't still be alive! Honestly, nothing more than a stable-hand and yet you think you can talk to royalty like that – plus, are you even supposed to be in this part of the castle? It's for members of the family only!"

The new arrival looked as if they were on the point of laughter: Neptune turned on her mother, begging her to be quiet. She hated the loud, brash side of her mother anyway, and in the current circumstances, she felt the need to stop it before it caused an international incident.

The older woman looked at her with the baffled expression that she usually wore around her daughter. "Neptune, darling," she started in a patronizing tone, "you're very young; I don't think you understand the seriousness of what this _boy_ has done. I plan on reporting it to the King himself."

Neptune sighed; their companion stifled a snigger. "I don't think _you_ understand, Mother. I think this is the Princess."

Her mother gave her that look again. "What, dear?" She asked, as if she hadn't really been listening to what she had said to begin with.

"I think this is her. The Princess. Of Ten'ousei."

Her mother laughed loudly at her. "Darling Neptune, please do not be so ridiculous. This is nothing more than a commoner, a boy at that. I do not even understand how you could possibly think that this person is the _princess_."

Here the blonde one stepped forward, an arm raised, attempting to speak before her mother started again. "Actually, ma'am, your daughter is right." She said with a bright, amused smile. She turned to Neptune and the smile turned into an almost smirk. "You must be Princess Neptune of Kaiousei. Princess Uranus. It's nice to finally meet you." She bent to kiss her hand, and over her head Neptune had a perfect view of her mother gawping like a goldfish.

* * *

A large dining hall decorated beautifully with gold and silver and the colours of the family; the cavernous room filled with the clashing of utensils and soft chatter; the rich, heavy food; Neptune felt suddenly sick of everything, of the sheer amount of pretension of the world in which she lived in. Over the previous days, the countdown of days until she was away from it, until she was finally at one with the ocean, had played through her mind like a mantra, something she repeated and repeated when she was forced to sit through another state dinner, talk to people that she had nothing in common with, forced to act like a 'lady' when she was not destined for anyway.

She glanced to her left, at the girl she had just met that day. She was dressed in her royal dress now, which had caused her mother to leave the room, claiming she was feeling faint. She was currently chatting with a girl on her left, a pretty petite brunette that she seemed to know, judging by the laughter that bursting forth. She had hoped (perhaps childishly) that the two of them would be able to talk at the dinner, in order to get to know each other before they become working partners, but there was nothing forthcoming, and she was struggling to hear the conversation between the two men on her right. She turned slightly, in an inconspicuous attempt to hear what the two girls were speaking about, but apparently she was caught; Uranus gave her a knowing smile, flashed in her direction and just as quickly she was drawn into the conversation with an introduction.

"Aoi, have you had a chance to meet Princess Neptune of Kaiousei yet? Princess, my cousin, Aoi." The previously unknown girl smiled politely at her, and nodded her head, her poise absolutely perfect and giving away completely that she was clearly born to a high family. Neptune looked at Uranus in contrast, who looked as though she should be working as a stable hand, albeit she would make an unusually handsome one.

Neptune smiled and nodded her head back, every inch the perfect princess she had been brought up to be, and then turned that smile on Uranus, who seemed unaffected. "I apologise for this morning, Uranus-sama," she said softly, "my mother is one to jump to conclusions."

Uranus winced. "Ergh," she said in a disgusted voice, slightly taking Neptune back. "Don't call me that. I hate it when people call me that."

"Uranus…sama?" Neptune asked carefully, unsure as to what the girl looking expectantly at her was getting at. Uranus nodded.

"Yeah, you don't have to bother with the honorific. Just call me Uranus or something."

"Right…" Neptune said slowly, thrown off guard by the princess who acted nothing like one. "Neptune, then." Uranus grinned at her then, in a way that made her pulse race and her heart pump in her throat. She stared at her for a couple of seconds, and then a cough made her jump.

Neptune glanced at Aoi, who seemed to have been slightly forgotten in the conversation that had just been going on, and looked angry at the fact. She gave Neptune a slightly dirty look and touched Uranus on the shoulder. Uranus glanced at her, nodded at whatever it was she said, before turning back to Neptune. She hid a smile as Aoi turned back to her meal, huffing something about a pretty face making her cousin forget everything else.

"I understand, princess, that you play the violin." Uranus said with some interest. "My own mother has been in raptures: she's rather disappointed in my own achievements, you see." She laughed, and Neptune joined her, sensing the joke in the rather heavy words. "I'd love to hear you play sometime." Uranus added, tone polite while her eyes betrayed her enthusiasm.

"Violin is my passion," Neptune admitted. "I have played it since I was very small; it's perhaps the only instrument I actually enjoyed. I worked hard at it, and they do say I'm accomplished. It's as dear to me as anything else in the universe."

Uranus looked impressed. "I suppose," she said, "that I probably wouldn't understand that feeling. I've never really cared for music. I was forced to take piano lessons when I was younger and I didn't enjoy them much."

"I don't suppose you would like it, if you were forced to take them," Neptune said musingly. "Music is always better when it's let to grow on its own, like a flower. Talent is like that too – you have to hone it and practise." She picked up Uranus's hand and examined her fingers. "It's a shame, too," she said softly. "Your fingers are so long, you'd be good at the piano."

Another hand covered hers, and she jumped as she realised what she had been doing. "I'm sorry!" She cried, pushing Uranus's hand back to her quickly, her heart suddenly beating at double pace, and she was fairly certain she was blushing. She touched a hand to her throat and glanced away, worried by the fact that her hands were tingling.

"Neptune," Uranus said, and Neptune looked at her, composed again and smiling, pushing the image of those hands to the back of her head and ignoring her racing heartbeat. Uranus picked up her wine glass, tilted it towards her and bowed her head.

"Princess Neptune, I look forward to working with you in the future." Uranus said, and Neptune picked up her own wine glass and touched it lightly to the other.

"I agree," she said, and began to take a sip.

"I hope," Uranus continued, "that we can learn to get along in the future. I believe we will make a great pair." She looked at Neptune with dark eyes then, the implication remaining unsaid but clear from what she had said. Neptune looked away and took a sip.

_I agree_, she thought.

* * *

"For the love of Serenity, Neptune, would you answer?"

Uranus clenched her fist repeatedly, trying hard to not punch the nearest flat surface (which happened to be the control panel, which was why she couldn't punch it), but her nerves were close to breaking point. She had been attempting to get in contact with Neptune for the past hour, but every time she tried to connect, her monitor would remain stubbornly blank. She couldn't hear anything, or see anything, and she was getting increasingly desperate.

The news had come through about an attack on the moon, that the forces of Beryl and Metaria from Earth had charged the Silver Millennium. The information had knocked Uranus for six: never in her wildest dreams had she thought that such evil would occur _inside_ their solar system. She had always thought that something like that would have flown in from outside.

But such a thing had happened, and it was vital that all the soldiers protected the Moon – such a time meant that any other duties they had were no longer important. And so, she had claimed the right to tell Neptune. She still hadn't managed it.

She punched the wall, and as she did so, the screen in front of her flickered. She became still, as still as she could possibly be, and after a couple of seconds, she said "Neptune?"

There was silence for a few more seconds, and she was just about to give up when a voice came through the intercom. "Princess Uranus?"

It was not a voice she recognised, a man's voice laden with the tang of dark magic, low and deep. Uranus gripped the edge of the control panel with shaking fingers. "Who are you?" She demanded. "Tell me who you are."

Her reply was a chuckle that sent shivers through her. "Tell me who you are!" She shouted. "Where's Neptune?"

"I don't think you need to know my name, Princess," the voice said, sounding amused. "And Neptune is right here beside me."

"Where?" Uranus asked, struggling to keep her voice steady. "Show me."

"I'm not sure I want to do that."

"Show me!" Uranus screamed. "Show me right now!"

The screen finally burst into life. The room on the other side was dark, and it took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust. Neptune sat on a chair, that much was clear, and when a few seconds had passed, enough to adjust, she leaned over the edge of her seat and threw up.

Neptune was dead: her throat had been slit and blood covered her sailor suit and matted her hair. She had been snuck up upon, her features locked forever in a state of shock and pain. In her fist she clutched her mirror, its power not enough to protect her from her attacker. Uranus found the hilt of her sword and gripped it hard, feeling it's heaviness with relief. There was no sign of the man she had been speaking to.

"Where are you?" She said quietly. "Show yourself."

He spoke from behind her. "Goodbye, Uranus."

A flash of grey passed before her eyes before the senshi of the wind died.


End file.
